The Ring of Hellfire is a spectacular two-day motorcycle ride linking seven of Wales’ greatest biking roads through some of the wildest and most beautiful landscapes in Britain.
Starting and finishing on the legendary Hellfire Pass (Bwlch y Groes), the route takes us on a journey through the mountains, forests, reservoirs and remote valleys of Wales in search of one thing: the best motorcycle road in Wales.
Along the route, we ride some of the country’s most spectacular stretches of tarmac, including the Mountain Road from Machynlleth, Hafren Forest, Abergwesyn Pass and the Devil’s Staircase, the roads around Llyn Brianne, the Black Mountain Road, the Elan Valley and Hellfire Pass itself. And these aren’t simply seven great roads joined together.
The roads linking them proved to be almost as good, turning the Ring of Hellfire into two days of near non-stop brilliant riding. As we put it in the film, it’s “all killer and no filler.” But which road deserves to be crowned King of the Ring? To find out, we score each one for scenery, riding thrills, adventure factor and overall magic, before revealing our winner at the end of the ride.
But of course, this is Wales, so things don’t exactly go to plan. We begin the journey on Hellfire Pass in driving rain, wind, mist and fog, before Wales eventually rewards us with glorious sunshine and one of the most memorable evenings we’ve ever spent on motorcycles. Along the way there’s also time for a few ridiculous motorcycle challenges, an ice cream in the Elan Valley and plenty of arguments about what actually makes a brilliant biking road.
If you’re searching for a motorcycle route in Wales, planning a motorcycle touring weekend in Wales, or simply looking for some of the best motorcycle roads in the UK, put the Ring of Hellfire on your riding bucket list. Wales is already one of Britain’s great motorcycling destinations, with roads like Bwlch y Groes, the Abergwesyn Pass and Elan Valley regularly highlighted among its standout riding routes.
The Bikes
For the Ring of Hellfire we ride two versions of the Kove 800X middleweight adventure bike: the road and touring-focused Kove 800X GT and the more off-road focused Kove 800X Pro. Over two days and hundreds of miles, we discover just how differently these two adventure bikes tackle the same Welsh roads.
The Tyres
We’re riding on Dunlop Trailmax Meridian adventure motorcycle tyres. Torrential rain on day one followed by dry, twisting Welsh roads gave us the perfect opportunity to discover how this road-focused adventure tyre performs in genuinely mixed British riding conditions.
Navigation
We navigate the entire Ring of Hellfire using the Beeline Moto II, including its ability to store routes directly on the device, meaning the Ring of Hellfire can be loaded up and ready to ride when you need it.
The Gear
For our trip, we’d been kitted out by the team at BikerHeadz. Julian wore the CE AAA-rated Halvarssons H80 suit, teamed with Falco Durant 2 adventure boots and a choice of Five GT1 EVO GTX gloves or TFX-1 Airflow gloves. To complete the wardrobe, I had a Schuberth C5 helmet designed to take the Cardo SC Edge communications system. And to top it all off, I used a pair of Alpine MotoSafe earplugs that eliminated wind noise while still allowing the comms system to be heard clearly.
James wore his Rukka Kingsley jacket and trousers, along with a pair of Daytona Road Star Pro GTX boots. Protecting his hands was a pair of Rukka Thermog+ gloves, while up top he had a Schuberth E2 flip-front adventure helmet complete with a built-in Cardo communications system. Despite experiencing four seasons in two days, we couldn’t fault any of our kit. When it comes to quality, Rukka and Halvarssons are up there with the very best.
Watch the video
If you’ve haven’t watched The Ring of Hellfire yet, make yourself a brew, settle into your favourite chair, and join us for 40 minutes of adventure at its very best in Wales.
And remember, if you want to ride The Ring of Hellfire, fill out the form below and we’ll send you the GPX file to follow…
